News | 10 October

The Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS) delivers a high standard and nationally consistent set of training outcomes for individuals installing and maintaining road safety barriers in Australia and New Zealand.

ASHTAS will become mandatory in Victoria from 1 July 2024, for installers, maintainers and repairers of Wire Rope Safety Barriers, Guard Fence Barriers and their associated terminals. 

Why is ASHTAS important?

Run-off-road and head-on crashes are the most common and severe types of crashes, particularly in rural environments and on high-speed urban roads. Installing high-performance safety barriers can create a safer environment for vehicle occupants by preventing vehicles from leaving the roadway and colliding with oncoming vehicles or hazards in the roadside. Safety barriers also protect road workers and others who may be in the roadside.

Why you need to be licensed?

Members within the road safety barrier industry and related industries have been concerned about the quality of installation of road safety barriers which may put the safety of the public and road workers at risk. 

To address this issue, Austroads worked with Australian State and Territory Road transport agencies and New Zealand along with the industry to introduce a nationally consistent training and ongoing accreditation program to ensure that all installers and operatives in the workforce understand how to install, repair, and maintain road safety barriers correctly following the manufacturer’s specifications and best practices. 

Who needs to be licensed (by 1 July 2024?)

All individuals ‘installing’ and ‘maintaining / repairing’ a Wire Rope Safety Barrier, a Guard Fence Barrier, or an associated WRSB or Guard Fence terminal, must be licenced by 1 July 2024.  Based on the ASHTAS description of an installation ‘crew’, this means that all associated individuals will need to complete an ‘Operative Course’, and some individuals will need to complete the relevant ‘Installer Courses’.  

Available training

While the ASHTAS courses and accreditation types will be rolled-out over several years, the ‘Operative Course’ is currently available and the ‘Installer Course’ will be available soon for ‘Wire Rope Safety Barriers’, ‘Guard Fence Barriers’ and their associated terminals.

The ‘Operative Course’ is a pre-requisite for all future installer courses (such as permanent concrete, temporary concrete and temporary plastic), inspector courses and designer courses.  

For accreditation

Visit this link to view upcoming training courses in Victoria:  ASHTAS Operative Course – Safe System Solutions 

More information

For more information visit the Austroads Website, and the Lantra Website

Webinar – To watch a webinar for a detailed overview of ASHTAS, visit the Austroads Website

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